Geological Time Scale
Component-I(A) - Personal Details
Role Name Affiliation
Principal Investigator Prof. Masood Ahsan Siddiqui JamiaMilliaIslamia,
New Delhi
Paper Coordinator, if any [Link] Dyal Singh College,
University of Delhi, New
Delhi
Content Writer/Author (CW) Dr. Shadab khan Department of
Geography,
Kirori Mal College
Content Reviewer (CR) [Link] Dyal Singh College,
University of Delhi, New
Delhi
Language Editor (LE)
Component-I (B) - Description of Module
Items Description of Module
Subject Name Geography
Paper Name Geomorphology
Module Name/Title Geological Time Scale
Module Id
GEO- 3
Pre-requisites Nature and Development of Geomorphology,
Continental Drift Theory, Mountain Building
Objectives To know about the Geological time scale and its
different era like Precambrian, Palaeozoic, Mesozoic
and Cenozoic.
Geological time, Eras, Periods, Precambrian,
Keywords Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic, Carboniferous,
Cambrian , Devonian , Silurian, Quaternary Period,
and Holocene
Geological Time Scale
Life on the earth did not come into being with its birth. The earth has a long history and has
seen many changes on her surface through different periods. The earth cooled from its
gaseous state into liquid one and transformed into solid layer on further cooling. For an
instance, there was a great ocean in place of the Himalayas only 150 million years [Link]
one cellular organism, life beganwhich belonged to both animal and vegetation kingdom.
Later on, the animals and vegetations both evolved into more complex life-forms. The
animals evolved into fish, reptiles, mammals and finally into human beings. The great age of
the earth were based on the rate of sedimentation, age of fossils, and the rate of cooling of the
earth,salinity of the oceans and the tidal force of the [Link] far as,the age of the Earth is
concerned,there is a lot of difference of opinion among the [Link] the basis of current
methods of radio-metric dating, most of the modern scientists agree that the life of the Earth
may range from 3 to 5 billion years.
James Hutton believed in the principle of uniformitarianism and he knew that the earth was
very old but they had no method of knowing its exact age. Several methods were devised by
others which were in use till about the beginning of the 20th [Link] Kelvin (in 1897), a
renowned physicist, had assumption that the earth was originally molten and cooled to its
present condition, put the earth’s age at not more than 100 million years, and perhaps much
less.
Rutherford, (in 1904) for the first time took the help of radioactive substances in
determining the age of the earth. For calculating the ages of rocks and minerals, the
discovery of radio-activity provided a reliable means; contain radioactive isotopes (elements).
This method is called radiometric dating. Till about 40 years ago the age of the earth
calculated on this basis was placed at about 3,000 million years. In recent years, it has been
possible to make more accurate calculations due to more precise scientific [Link]
relative percentage of lead isotopes in ancient rocks and meteorites has also been taken into
account and the age of the earth is now placed at around 4,600 million years. Chances of
error in this calculation are very small;therefore this age is now widely accepted.
Geological History of the Earth
Though life on earth has existed only for a small fraction of her history, fossils, which are
remains of extinct animals, indicate a good deal. It is possible to estimate the depth of the sea
on the basis of fossils of certain marine animals like corals, where particular sediment was
[Link] fossils provided indications of past environments. Radiometric
dating has made possible the specific or absolute dating of rock units that represent various
events in the earth's distant past. When a complete sequence of rocks representing the entire
period is not available and there are breaks in the rock record, then it is known
unconformities.
The principal divisions of geological time are called eras. Three eras are recognised- the
Plaeozoic (ancient life), the Mesozoic (middle life) and the Cenozoic (recent life). Each
of these eras is subdivided into smaller time units known as periods.
The Palaeozoic has seven periods,Mesozoic and Cenozoic has three andtwo periods
respectively. Each period is characterized by its profound changes in life forms. These
twelve periods is further sub-divided into epochs and epoch into ages.
It will be observed that the Palaeozoic era begins some 600 million years ago. The
enormously long period of more than 4 billion years prior to the Pre-cambrian with no further
subdivision, as our knowledge about those early times is very limited. This is so, because
prior to the Cambrian, very simple life forms such as algae, bacteria, fungi, sponges and
worms have not left adequate fossil [Link] the basis of the above discussion a standard
geological timescale has been prepared which is accepted throughout the world and with
reference to which the geological history of the earth can be studied.
Stratigraphic Chart
Era Period Epoch Million Distinctive Life Major
YearsAge Structural
Episodes
Cenozoic Quaternary Recent/ Holocene 0.01 Ice age ends
Humans are dominant
Pleistocene/ 2.5 Age of Man Main Alpine
more recent Episode
Tertiary Pliocene 12 Age of mammals-
Miocene 25 (flowering plants and
Oligocene 35-40 broad leaved trees) Laramide Phase
Eocene 60
Paleocene 70
Mesozoic Cretaceous 135 Age of reptiles General Worldwide
(Creta=chalk) (Dinosaurs) and birds Elevation
Jurassic(after Jura 180
mountain)
Triassic (three fold 225
division in Germany)
Palaeozoic Permian 270 Age of Amphibians Main Hercynian
Episode
Carboniferous 350 Widespread forests
Devonian 440+101 Age of fishes
Silurian 440+10 Age of marine
Ordovician 500 Invertebrates
Cambrian 600 Abundant fossils first Main Caledonian
appear Episode
Azoic or Oldest rocks Several Mountain
Precambrian 3787+85 Building Episodes
Source: Dayal, P. “A Textbook of Geomorphology”, Shukla book depot, Patna, 1994 &
[Link]
It is clear from the above table that man is comparatively a new comer on the Earth. Even this
history of the earth constitutes not more than one sixth of the life of the earth, nothing is
known about 5/6th of the Earth's history.
Source: [Link]
Division of Geological Time into Eras
We have noticed above that geological time has been divided into four major divisions called
eras-Precambrian, Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cainozoic or Cenozoic. The oldest and by far
the longest is Pre-Cambrian which covers 90 per cent of geological time but our knowledge
about this era is too little.
PRECAMBRIAN ERA (Eozoic)
This is the oldest era of geological history. The duration of this era is from the beginning of
the earth nearly 4.6 billion years or more till about 0.6 billion years ago. In other words Pre-
Cambrian alone compasses 90 per cent of all geological time.
Pre-Cambrian rocks are,which are said to be the oldest one,belong to the Archaean period.
Most part ofthe Peninsular plateau of India is composed of Archaean rocks which
include the rocks of the Dharwar system which were originally sedimentaries. Just above the
Archaean system are the Late Pre-Cambrian or Proterozoic rocks, the rocks of the
Vindhyansystem and theCuddapah system in India belong to this [Link] rocks of the Pre-
Cambrian era cover extensive areas in all the continents and usually form areas of low or
moderate relief on account of the denudation of ages: These are called continental shields. In
this era, Pangaea continent was born and at the end of the period the four shields had come
into existence- i.e. Laurentian shield; Siberian shield; Gondwana shield; Baltic shield.
The Pre-Cambrian rocks are extremely rich in metallic minerals, and almost all the important
occurrences of iron ore, gold, copper, manganese, uranium, chromium, lead, zinc and mica
in the world are found in the rock of this era.
PALEOZOIC ERA
The Palaezoic started 600 million years ago and continued till about 225million years. Its
time range is about 30 million years. The animals in the seas and oceans were invertebrate.
Non-floral vegetation came into existence. The chief rocks of this period are shale, slate, hard
sandstone, hard limestone, and rocks of this period are found large deposit of valuable
minerals. The rocks of this period in North America abound in gold, oil, coal and iron ore
while in Europe tin, copper and iron are found in the rocks of this period. This era further
sub-divided into six periods of which the oldest one is the Cambrian followed by the
Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and the Permian.
During this era, the South Pole was possibly somewhere in the South Atlantic Ocean and the
North Pole in the North Pacific Ocean and the equator passed through South Australia,
Arabian Peninsula, Middle Europe and eastern North [Link] the Devonian
periodpresence of coral limestones in North America, Europe and South-east Asia and
Australia indicates a hot climate. On the other hand, in the Devonian and Permian periods
there are evidences of relatively cold climates in South America, South Africa and India.
(i) Cambrian Period-This period was about 90 million year long (from 600 to 500 million
years). CambrianPeriod saw the transgression of sea over the land surface. Land submerged
under water due to earth movement that gave rise to sedimentary rocks. It is why the rocks of
this period are quite extensive. The rocks of this time have light limestone at the bottom over
which are laid the layers of sandstone, shale and at the top is a thin layer of limestone again.
These rocks not only contain the fossils of the oldest life but also hold the first evidence of
life.
(ii) Ordovician Period- The period witnessed a large portion of the land surface being
submerged under water and half of North America was under water. There was an expansion
of oceans in this [Link] volcanic eruptions took place in this period and the eastern
portion of the U.S.A. was overlaid with the volcanic ash and dust. Among the animals the
greatest evolution of Trilobites took place. The sea-grass was the main vegetation with
characteristic of the birth of molluscus in this period. Slates, limestones and volcanic rocks
spread over a large area.
(iii) Silurian Period-It was the third period and followed the Ordovician Period and preceded
the Devonian Period. This period was important for the birth of fish and land vegetation. The
Caledonian earth movement affected all the continents. For the first time, the animals
which could breathe came into existence that means animals with lungs developed. Fish came
into existence. The red sandstone also came to be formed in this very period.
(iv) Devonian Period- It was abouta million year long period. It began 440 million years ago
and ended 350 million years [Link] Periodsaw at its beginning the well-known
mountain building movement [Link] [Link] mountains of Scandinavia, North
England, Scotland and Spitbergen were formed in this period. It is called the age of fishes
because the seas were full of them. In the late Devonian, the first amphibians and vertebrate
colonisation ofthe dryland had begun. All the rocks of this system hold the fossils of fish. The
chief creatures of this period were predominantly aquatic.
(v) Carboniferous Period- It was 80 million year long. It began 350 million years ago and
ended in 270 million years [Link] importance of this period is that the coal beds of the earth
came to be formed, hence it is also known as the Coal Age. Thus in course of time due to
intense heat and pressure, the successive layers of decaying vegetation, entrapped in the
sediment layers, were transformed into coal beds. This period also saw the beginning of such
animal life which could live both on land and water.
(vi) Permian Period-This period is 45 million years long. It began 270 million years ago and
ended 225 million years [Link] Periodwas the time when the Hercynianmountain
building movement occurred. This movement left its mark in central Europe, North
America and several other places. There was a heavy deposition of red rocks and limestones
in South-West [Link] animals which could live both on land and sea came to evolve all
the more and reptiles saw the light of day. The temperature began to rise and the climate
started getting dry in this period.
MESOZOIC ERA
Mesozoic or secondaryErais formed of two words-mesoi.e. middle and zoici.e. life. In other
words, it is the meeting time between the old and the new Eras. The Mesozoic era is of a
much shorter duration than the Palaeozoic. The climate started getting warm and dry. The
snow cover of Antarctica began to melt. This era is best known as the age of dinosaurs and
[Link] this era, birds make their appearance in Jurassic and the small mammals begin to
appear in the Triassic. The Tethys Sea was divided into two parts. This era consists of the
following three periods:
i. Triassic Period
ii. Jurassic Period
iii. Cretaceous Period.
(i) Triassic Period-It started 225 million years ago and ended 180 million years [Link] was
about 40 million year long. During this period,one compact landmass known as
Gondwanaland; South and Central Africa, Madagascar, South India and Australia were part
of it.
During this period, while the northern hemisphere was having dry climate, the southern
hemisphere was underlaid with an ice sheet. The Tethys Sea which had come into existence
by the end of the Palaeozoic era, continued to exit till the Cretaceous without any significant
deformation. The places in Europe where we now find the Mediterranean Sea and the Alps
mountains, there used to flow the Tethys Sea.
The shales and sandstones of the Panchet series of the Gondwana system belong to the
Triassic and the sandstones and shales of the Jabalpur series belong to the Jurassic. In this
period; shale, limestone, sandstone, etc. were [Link] first dinosaur was born;mammals
also came into existence in the elementary form.
(ii) Jurassic Period: It is considered to be 45 million year long. It started 180 million years
ago and ended 135 million years [Link] reach their greatest proportions in this period.
They dominated the land, sea and [Link] fossils of the first bird also belong to this period. A
lot of deposition took place in the seas of western USA. Nevoda and Laramide movements
also took place in Jurassicperiod. Formation of Sierra Nevada Mountains was the result of
these movements.
(iii) Cretaceous Period: It began 135 million years ago and ended 70 million years [Link]
was about 60 million year long. It is well-known for its widespread deposits of chalk. The
other major rocks of this period are soft sandstone, clay and limestone. Due to
Laramidemovement, the American Cordilleras were formed. It was during this period that
deciduous trees appeared. Undoubtedly, the most dominating among the animals were the
reptiles. The first birds and mammals were also appeared in this period. Huge
animals(Dinosaurs) began to decay and were almost extinct by the end of the period.
CENOZOIC ERA
This latest era in the earth's geological history has began about 65 million years ago.
Cenozoic is made oftwo words-ceno, [Link] and zoic, [Link]. It is an era of new lifewhich
normally divided into two periods-Tertiary and Quaternary. But there are some people who
are in favour to regard the Tertiary and Quaternary as two separate eras. Tertiary period
ended about one million years ago. At present we are living in the Quaternary period.
The Tertiary period is sub-divided into five epochs. These are, beginning from the oldest, -
Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene and Pliocene. It was during this era that the
vegetation increased and the apeman appeared.
(i) Paleocene Epoch- This epoch began 70 million years ago and ended 60 million years ago.
It is considered to be about 10 million years [Link] Rocky Mountains were formed under
Laramide movement. Grass land area also increased in this epoch.
(ii) Eocene Epoch-It is considered to be 20 million years long. It started 60 million years ago
and ended 40 million years ago. The land area developed many fissures which belched out
lava over a big area. Mammals evolved into many branches. During this epoch plants bearing
fruits and grains developed on a large scale.
(iii) Oligocene Epoch-It began 40 million years ago and ended 25 million years [Link] was
about 15 million years long. It was the epoch of Alpine Orogeny. Sediment started
depositing in the seas of Pacific coast. The forefather of man, Anthropoid, was born in this
epoch.
(iv) Miocene Epoch-It was almost 13 million years long. It began 25 million years ago and
ended 12 million years ago. The rivers continued to deposit sediments in the Great-Plains of
[Link]. During this epoch the Alpine folds developed in Eurasia and trended in the east-west
direction. Sediment was also deposited at large scale in the Atlantic ocean and Gulf coast.
The whale and monkey came into existence.
(v) Pliocene Epoch- This epoch was about 10 million years long. It started 12 million years
ago and ended 2.5 million years [Link] to orogenetic movement, the sediment deposited in
the shallow seas rose in the form of plains. During this epoch large plains developed, the
important ones are the Northern Plains, plains of Europe, the Po basin of Italy, the
Mesopotamian plain, Ganga and Sindh plains. Horses, elephants and huge carnivorous
animals evolved. Thisepoch is also considered to be the evolution of man.
(b) Quaternary Period:The Quaternary period started about two and a half million years
ago. It is further subdivided into two epochs- Pleistocene and the Recent (or Holocene). This
is the most recent of the periods of geological history. The alluvial deposits of the world were
also laid in this [Link] rocks of this period contain the fossils of horses,elephants, camels
and several other oceanic mammals. This period saw the evolution of man and the growth of
his intellect.
(i) Pleistocene Epoch- The Pleistocene Epoch is typically defined as the time period that
began about one million years ago and lasted until about 10,000 years ago. Man appeared on
this planet only towards the beginning of Pleistocene but the modern man developed in the
Holocene epoch. At the beginning of this epoch, the temperature of the atmosphere became
so low that the surface of the earth came under a vast ice sheet. Besides these,the Himalayas
and the Alps were having small patches of [Link] account of these, this era is also
known as the Great lce [Link] land masses of the Southern Hemisphere, however, remained
free from [Link] Africa, North America (Canada and northern [Link].), Arctic and
Antarctica were all covered with a thick layer of snow. The snow caps ofhigh mountains
expanded. The snow cover of North America has disappeared hardly 10,000 years [Link]
snow cover had a prevalent effect upon human life. Large and violent animals were killed.
Mammals had evolved very fast. Monkeys, chimpanzees and human beings increased in
number at large. Man's fossils are found in rocks about one hundred thousand years old. It is,
therefore, estimated that man is only one hundred thousand years old.
The snow cover was not static in this age. From a study, snow cover advanced and retreated
four times. Hence this period is called ice age and divided into four ice-ages (a) Gunz (b)
Mindel (c) Riss and (d) [Link] is no unanimity among the scientist regarding causes of
ice-ages. Some of the causes have been attributed to the birth of mountains, the eruption of
volcanoes, the interruptions in the receipt of solar energy, etc. The five Great Lakes of North
America were formed by the retreat of the snow cover. The mountainstops of Europe and
America were rounded and the river valleys developed U-shape. The landscapesfeatures
ofSweden, Finland and Russia are a testimony to the work of snow cover.
(ii) Holocene [Link] epoch started 10,000 years ago. 'Man' is the most important feature
of the Holocene epoch that is why Holocene can be called the age of human-evolution.
However, the theory of human evolution is still in [Link], by the development of his
intellect has established his control over the flora (plants) and fauna (animals) of the world.
He has accelerated some changes in the landforms and has converted the Earth into a place
for his existence. Though no large scale changes have been effected by rivers, sea waves,
winds, etc., in the landforms during the Holocene, yet man has made tremendous progress in
human civilization.
During his relatively short period man by his intelligence, mental ability and power of
organization has greatly speeded up the pace of development. Therefore the climatic
conditions in the past have played an important role in the way of human life. The effects on
the life of man are visible on the type of environment creating for his comfort. Man has also
been able to move out of the pull of the Earth and visited the Moon and constant efforts may
make human landing on Mars.
